{
  "id": 4206431,
  "title": "Real Madrid hosts Inter to open Champions League main phase. PSG plays City, Barcelona in October",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/real-madrid-hosts-inter-to-open-champions-league-main-phase-psg-plays-4206431",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-29T13:53:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Associated Press",
    "slug": "associated-press",
    "url": "https://apnews.com/article/champions-league-madrid-psg-arsenal-356fb11df83959c3c2883e5e406c8f5a"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Real Madrid will kick off the Champions League main phase on September 8 with a home match against Inter Milan, marking their 15th consecutive title in European competition. UEFA announced the match dates for all 36 teams following their draw in Monaco.\n\nThe opening day features Club Brugge hosting Aston Villa and AEK Athens facing LASK in early starts at 6:45 p.m. (1645 GMT). The following day, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain take on Slovan Bratislava, with Yaya Touré leading the Slovakian side. Liverpool opens their campaign against Atletico Madrid, a rematch of their first match last season at Anfield.\n\nAnother debut in the main phase comes from Azerbaijani club Sabah, who face Manchester United on September 10. The same day, Como takes on Leipzig, while Bayern Munich welcomes Bodø/Glimt in the opening round.\n\nA significant fixture in October sees Paris Saint-Germain hosting Paris rivals PSG on October 14, followed by a match against Barcelona at the Parc des Princes on October 20. Both PSG and Barcelona continue their European journeys with challenging fixtures in the second round.\n\nBarcelona faces Sabah in Baku on November 25, before returning to Europe for a match against Manchester City on December 8. Arsenal, coached by Jose Mourinho, hosts Real Madrid on December 9, marking the first of Mourinho's two visits to London for the season. Real Madrid will conclude their main phase with a final match against Shakhtar Donetsk on January 27, hosted at Chelsea, the neutral venue chosen by the Ukrainian champions.",
  "summary": "NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Record 15-time European champion Real Madrid will start the league phase of the Champions League on Sept. 8 when it hosts Inter Milan. Match dates for each of…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}